Anytime you have a Rap-for-life type player in Calderon that always gave 100%, you're going to have people upset. Also, losing a young 23 year old F will ALWAYS be hard. Ed stepped it up this year and took a huge leap in his development. Who knows what he will turn in to. Unfortunately, I don't think we see it in Memphis. He just wont get the minutes. I really feel bad for Ed

In terms of people 'jumping on the Rudy bandwagon', I call that BS. The Raps have been a struggling team for years. We finally make a move that looks like a great one, and you're upset people are excited?

If you lose, people wont watch. if you win, people watch. Simple as that.

It's called posturing.... we wanted Gay but we did not want to give the kitchen sink. I am happy with the price, feel we could of easily overpaid, if fans did not big up Jose and Ed we may not been able to get such a good deal for you nancies.

I know it's still early but I have to say; there was so much bad talk about the trade, how Jose shouldn't have been traded, how losing Ed was a fatal mistake and how Rudy just clogs the floor and shoots too much blah blah blah.But then talking with people after the Clips game and reading different internet blogs and what not, all of a sudden those people have changed their tone!? As much as I loved Jose and Ed I was all for the trade and couldn't understand why people didn't see the Raptors talent level take a big jump up (which is exactly what we needed) Instead, everyone seemed to focus on all the negatives.
Now after Rudy's debut, a blow out over the Clips and him being the high scorer -watch all the people who hated the trade suddenly jump on his jock. watch

Being a long time lurker and a Raptor fan from the very beginning I must say that Raptor fans are some of the most fickle fans out there - just my 2cents

Any fan is happy to see their team win. Also, I don't think even the biggest doubter would have suggested our team got worse with the Gay trade. The problem isn't the talent. The problem is that now the team basically will be as is for the next 2 seasons. The last undesirable piece is Bargs, and who knows if that'll bring back a truly useful piece in the short or long term.
After that, even at the wing it'll be hard to make trade to truly improve the team, and any trade might involve a decrease in talent level and/or youth in order to plug holes. Suffice it to say even if the Raptors are easily a playoff team with Gay and the team mostly as is, how the hell to they take the next step, and in 2 and a half years, will they be able to keep the team together and improve it if they're missing something to become contenders?

... Ed stepped it up this year and took a huge leap in his development. Who knows what he will turn in to. Unfortunately, I don't think we see it in Memphis. He just wont get the minutes. I really feel bad for Ed

I have to agree. I just don't see him getting much burn in memphis behind zach, gasol and arthur. Last night he only played 5 minutes.

I felt heartbroken for Ed when I saw the 5 min in the boxscore. He deserves better.

Yeah, I assume that'll go up....Also, I fully agree with the perspective that the trade destroyed Memphis' playoff chances. They might still make a deep run, but they won't really contend.

I really can't imagine Memphis keeps sitting still. It was stupid, by all accounts, for them to trade Gay now instead of at the end of the season. If they're retooling, then they might as well try and trade Randolph for wing help now. It's pretty obvious they're making Conley and Gasol teh core moving forward. They're cheaper than Randolph and Gay, and play harder positions to fill. Still though, you need at least one dynamic wing player to win in this league, and now Memphis lacks that very badly. I hope for Ed's sake, they trade Randolph for a younger wing. A core of Gasol, Ed, Conley and a solid wing can easily rise quickly again.

Yeah, I assume that'll go up....Also, I fully agree with the perspective that the trade destroyed Memphis' playoff chances. They might still make a deep run, but they won't really contend.

I really can't imagine Memphis keeps sitting still. It was stupid, by all accounts, for them to trade Gay now instead of at the end of the season. If they're retooling, then they might as well try and trade Randolph for wing help now. It's pretty obvious they're making Conley and Gasol teh core moving forward. They're cheaper than Randolph and Gay, and play harder positions to fill. Still though, you need at least one dynamic wing player to win in this league, and now Memphis lacks that very badly. I hope for Ed's sake, they trade Randolph for a younger wing. A core of Gasol, Ed, Conley and a solid wing can easily rise quickly again.

Raptors have been there, and done that.... Finally, the Raptors have addressed their wing position, at the expense of Memphis. This league is increasingly about athleticism on the wing, so I still don't understand why so many Raptors fans and sports journalists were so down on the Gay trade.

Raptors have been there, and done that.... Finally, the Raptors have addressed their wing position, at the expense of Memphis. This league is increasingly about athleticism on the wing, so I still don't understand why so many Raptors fans and sports journalists were so down on the Gay trade.

i would have to guess is it's because of how well ed davis was playing and how much rudy gay makes. i have to say i was one of those that believed it was a bad trade for the raptors because of the potential upside of ed davis and given how well he was playing as a starter, but as this trade has settled in and got to see rudy play in a raps uni, i'm fully on board.

again it's too early to say if this is gonna work in the long run (it's only been one game and rudy hasn't even had a practice yet), but last night shows it looks promising.

Amazing trade....2 1/2 months of Calderon and Davis for Gay.
Clearly a salary dump by Memphis.
Now what if Bargnani decides he wants to buy in and be part of the team's program.
We might finally have something very special in Toronto !

This was a money trade for Memphis and a basketball trade for the Raptors. I was on board as soon as I heard it, and would have been all over it before the season. Davis has some potential, but I don't think he'll ever be as good as Gay. The Raptors already have their future big man (JV) and Amir is an efficient PF who is improving each month. It's nice to see that the Raptors weren't afraid to use their financial flexibility to nab a top wing player. I think that Gay, DeRozan and Ross are going to be a scary wing rotation. In the future, I can see them even going "small" at times with JV, Gay, DeRozan, Ross and Lowry. I think that this move has been seriously underestimated by "experts" and many Raptors fans.

It's called posturing.... we wanted Gay but we did not want to give the kitchen sink. I am happy with the price, feel we could of easily overpaid, if fans did not big up Jose and Ed we may not been able to get such a good deal for you nancies.

Wait, are you saying that the Memphis GM decided on this deal because he read this forum and realized that he better pull the trigger because the posters here liked Jose and Ed so much? Wow.... thanks for getting us such a good deal!

Wait, are you saying that the Memphis GM decided on this deal because he read this forum and realized that he better pull the trigger because the posters here liked Jose and Ed so much? Wow.... thanks for getting us such a good deal!

while i dont think any of the posts on here would sway & GM to trade, i do think that local public perceptions of players does get taken into account alot of the time. face it if a whole fanbase thinks a player sucks it def. can decrease there value so why couldnt it work the other way aswell?